MCV reports that Call of Duty 5 was unveiled in a conference call where Activision discussed its most recent round of financial reporting. The conference call is transcribed here (thanks Gamer's Hell), so here is exactly what was revealed about this project, which will be moving to another theatre of operations:

For Call of Duty, we’ll bring the intensity of the recent Call of Duty: Modern Warfare title to yet a new military theater, to engage our significantly larger user based, which nearly doubled last year as new users came into the franchise.

We’ll launch on all four platforms we participated on in fiscal 2008 plus we will launch on the PS2 and the Wii. We’ll drive category sales of downloadable maps and enhanced Call of Duty 4 retail SKUs.

Bond Called to Duty on IGN offers more of the outcome of Activision's financial conference call, where Quantum of Solace was unveiled, a game based on the upcoming James Bond movie of the same name. The game will use the engine from Call of Duty 4 and a number of developers are involved (Treyarch, Vicarious Visions, Beenox, and Eurocom), as the game will apparently appear for Windows and a number of consoles and handhelds, though only PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 are specifically mentioned. What was sais in the conference call is:

In addition to the strong DreamWorks slate, we look forward to launching Bond: Quantum of Solace in Q3, concurrent with the movie. This game uses the Call of Duty 4 engine and technology to bring Bond games to a new level.

EA announces plans for a PC edition of Burnout Paradise, the open world racing game named after a head shop:

Criterion Games, a studio of Electronic Arts, today announced that the award-winning driving game Burnout Paradise is being rebuilt specifically for the PC. Burnout Paradise will be the first Burnout title ever made for the PC, customized with expanded multiplayer, enhanced online features, and community driven content. Originally released for the PLAYSTATION 3 computer entertainment system and Xbox 360 videogame and entertainment system, Burnout Paradise has won over 55 awards worldwide. Burnout Paradise delivers an open-world environment built for intense speed, excitement and exploration and sets a new standard in the seamless transition from single-player offline to social online gameplay.

Burnout Paradise for the PC will combine all the open world racing, intense speed and action of the original game with new gameplay for the PC version.

Gamers can tune into a live webcast at http://criteriongames.com at 8:00 AM PST on Friday, May 9 for more details on this announcement. For more information about Burnout Paradise, please visit http://criteriongames.com

Burnout Paradise for the PC has not been rated by the ESRB or PEGI.

Codemasters announces it has secured worldwide rights to create video games based on the Formula 1 racing series, with the first release expected to appear on the starting grid next year:

UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif. - May 9, 2008 - Codemasters®, developer and publisher of award-winning racing video games, has secured the exclusive video game rights to FORMULA 1. In a worldwide licensing agreement with Formula One Administration Limited, Codemasters will develop a new generation of the multi-million selling FORMULA 1 game franchise across multiple platforms.

Codemasters Studios, creators of genre-leading racing titles DiRT™ and GRID™, will lead the design and development of official FIA FORMULA ONE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP games for home console, handheld and PC gaming formats.

"FORMULA 1 is ambitious in expanding its reach with more circuits planned beyond recent additions in the Middle East and China," said Rod Cousens, chief executive officer, Codemasters. "It is also ambitious in expanding its reach via technology. The digital communities that computer and video gaming creates will play a key role in further growing the FORMULA 1 audience and connecting them globally. As a world-leading creator of driving games, this alliance with FORMULA 1 is the jewel in Codemasters' racing crown and creates an undisputed segment champion. FORMULA 1 has gone with the best, the segment leader. It has gone to the home of the EGO Engine for quality; it has gone to the company that can host FORMULA 1 Online, to the company that is streaking away from the pack."

"Codemasters' success and recent innovations in the racing game space makes the company more than appropriately tuned for the challenge," said Chris Deering, chairman, Codemasters. "The combination of FORMULA 1's new momentum of expansion and Codemasters' contemporary technology and past experience is the breaking of a new dawn for the sport, on the track and on the HD game screen."

The worldwide deal provides Codemasters with rights to feature all Grand Prix circuits, FORMULA 1 teams, cars, and driver likenesses.

The FIA FORMULA ONE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP games will be developed using the evolution of the award-winning EGO™ Game Technology Engine, Codemasters' highly versatile cross-platform middleware technology. Its advanced graphics and physics technology brings an unmatched cinematic quality and realism to interactive entertainment.

The EGO Engine is currently being deployed in the creation of GRID™, the latest in Codemasters Studio's international circuit-based racing series, set to be a landmark release when it launches on June 3.

Codemasters expects the first game based on the FIA FORMULA ONE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP to launch in 2009.

Digitalmindsoft offers updated 3ds Max plug-ins for Men of War, which will facilitate the creation of vehicles that can be imported into the World War II real-time strategy game. This page has details on how this can be accomplished, and offers some sample files to get you started.

The Battlefield Website has news that the servers and other techie bits behind the Battlefield 2142 stats and accounts system has been upgraded:

Our stats system provider has been experiencing an unprecedented amount of load on the system that is being alleviated as we speak. In the past 24 hours they have:

-Quadrupled the load capacity
-Add several more server clusters to the server farm
-Improved back end efficiency of a number of processes
-Added several more load balancers to evenly distribute the services.

While we expect that these changes will largely restore connectivity and improve stability in a very short period, there may be periodic instability while we work to fully debug all of the work that has been done. Network engineers are working around the clock on these improvements and to accommodate the new load on the system.

We appreciate your patience during this time, and assure you that the changes made this week will make for radically improved stability and scalability for your titles in the immediate future.

GamesIndustry.biz quotes EA Mythic designer Josh Drescher says that Warhammer Online is being designed with longevity in mind, saying they have about five years worth of content:

"All the under-the-hood numbers all actually scale through the next five years," he said.

"What you don't want is when you launch the game you've got 40 levels - and it takes however long it takes to get to level 40. You then launch an expansion and it now takes two weeks to get to level 40 because now we need everyone to spend six months to get from level 40 to 50," Drescher added.

• Mass Effect
  The Mass Effect Q&A on Play.TM chats with Al Reed from Demiurge about the PC edition of Mass Effect, BioWare's RPG: "One major area that you'll immediately notice a difference in is the squad controls, where you can now give orders to individual squad members. You can check out Dan's developer diary on the subject here. We've implemented a new HUD, we've reworked the inventory system, we have an entirely new mini-game, and there are a few more surprises for players as well. We've also upgraded the ME graphics engine and texture resolution to take full advantage of a high-end PC."
• Lord of the Rings: Conquest
  There's a Pandemic Studios Q&A on TheOneRing.net talking with Eric 'Giz' Gewirtz about Lord of the Rings: Conquest, the just-announced game that will bring Star Wars: Battlefront-style gameplay to Middle-earth
• Activision
  Bobby Kotick on another huge quarter for Activision on Variety gets some responses from the Activision CEO to the company's recent round of favorable financial results (story).

• Mass Effect on the Official Website. Thanks Gamer's Hell.

• Ford Mustang GT-R Is Up For Grabs As Codemasters Launches the GRID Playable Demo.

• HAZE 4 Player Co-op - Campaign Demo Now Available Exclusively on the PLAYSTATION Network.
• Mad Catz to Produce Manchester United Football Club Branded Videogame Controllers and Related Accessories.
• Battlefield Bad Company Single-Player and Multi-Player Demo Announced.
• Rockstar releases GTA IV multiplayer guide.
• MotorStorm Pacific Rift Playstation 3 Details.

Thanks Mike Martinez.

• XP SP3 cripples some PCs with endless reboots.
• Current crop of graphics cards compared, ranked by price.
• Apple copying Nintendo's Wiimote?
• Nasa set to join petaflop elite. NASA!
• Microsoft grows DAISY for blind computer users while Adobe wilts.

• Europa Universalis: Rome on Boomtown.
• Penumbra: Black Plague on 2404.

• APACK ZEROtherm CF900 and Scythe Shuriken on X-bit labs.
• ASUS EAH3870 X2 1GB Graphics Card on bit-tech.net.
• ASUS Xonar DX PCI Express 7.1 Audio Card on HotHardware.
• Canon IXUS 80 IS Digital Camera on InsideHW.
• Cooler Master Hyper Z600 CPU Cooler on Elite Bastards.
• Coolermaster LED Silent Fan on XSReviews.co.uk.
• Diamond Viper Radeon HD 3650 1GB Graphics Card on Overclockers Online.
• Diamond Viper Radeon HD 3850 Ruby edition 512MB Graphics Card on Guru3D.
• Enermax PRO82+ 525 W PSU on Hardware Secrets.
• Thermaltake M9 Mid-Tower PC Case on DragonSteelMods.
• XTracPads Fat Mat on Tech-Reviews.co.uk.

Thanks Mike Martinez.

• Nasdaq delists Atari…
• RealNetworks plans to spin off its games unit…
• BioShock movie in development, Gore Verbinski directing. Also, Gore Verbinski talks about directing the Bioshock movie…

Thanks for all the well-wishing on the occasion of my brother's birthday. Seems like I may be getting a present out of this deal, as it sounds like he might be getting an Xbox 360 for his birthday, which would allow us to play Rock Band together. Watch out, here come the Blue Brothers.

Band of Links:	Thanks Ant and Mike Martinez.
Play:	M.I.L.O.
Link of the Morning:	BBQ Sword Makes You the Swashbuckler of Sausages. Not that Zorro wasn't.
Stories:	Sopranos creator signs movie deal. Texas sinkhole calm for the moment.
Image:	APOD 2008 May 9 - Moon Meets Mercury. Thanks Jim.
Media:	Suffering From P.D. (Projectile Dysfunction)? The First 7 Minutes of SPEED RACER Are Online Now!

Battlefront.com announces the release of the Strategic Command 2: Patton Drives East expansion is now invading:

The second expansion in the acclaimed Strategic Command 2 grand strategy series, Patton Drives East is now available!

Available in three delivery formats (Download, Mail Delivery and joint Download+Mail Delivery), Patton Drives East explores the "what ifs" of a post WWII conflict between the Allies and USSR as well as including various hypothetical revisions of classic WWII campaigns.

Order the Download or Download+Mail version and you can download the game today and be playing within minutes! The Mail Delivery version should begin shipping out from our warehouse in about one weeks time.

If you would to check out the game before purchasing, the official demo is also available from the May 2nd link below.

Homestar Runner Q&A on GameCyte talking with Matt and Mike Chapman about Strong Bad's Cool Game for Attractive People, covering how cool the game is and how attractive we are.

• Mass Effect on GameSpot, GamesRadar, and IGN.
• The Tomorrow War on Hooked Gamers.

• Sudden Strike 3: Arms for Victory on FileFront.

Thanks Mike Martinez.

• Sony Confirms Euro Metal Gear 4 PS3 Bundle.
• Former Ninty boss Japan's richest.
• Xbox Live Game with Fame Presents Pendulum.

Thanks Mike Martinez.

• Theorizing a Big Apple Push Into Gaming.
• AMD talks Shanghai performance, features, roadmap to 2010.
• Ubisoft comments on Assassin's Creed DX10.1 controversy on The Tech Report.
• Theorizing a Big Apple Push Into Gaming.
• Top 10 Questions to Ask Before Buying a PC.
• Glitch delays Photoshop Express update.
• NASA cranking up two new supercomputers.

• Best Buy, Carphone Warehouse to join. Thanks Ant.
• New iPhone 2.0 OS adds Safari YouTube support.
• Windows Mobile to get pumped up on NVIDIA.
• Japan eyes adding copyright fee to iPod price.

Thanks Mike Martinez.

• Microsoft is probing Facebook's merger interest.
• The Web Offers Lots of New Ways for Pre-Teenagers to Reinvent Themselves.
• Comcast’s Near-Unlimited Bandwidth Limits.
• Academic says gadgets threaten Internet's future.
• Facebook safeguards will protect young users.

Thanks Mike Martinez.

• Update: Firefox plugin shipped with malicious code.
• Adobe Security Advisory.
• Parasitic botnet spams 60 billion a day.
• Alluring MP3s, movies hit LimeWire, install malware instead.
• Study Fewer under-17 kids buying 'M'-rated games.
• FTC Study Shows Massive Improvement in Video Game Rating Enforcement.
• I Was A Teenage Bot Master.

Thanks Mike Martinez.

• Judge slaps TorrentSpy with $111 million damages.
• TorrentSpy to appeal whopper legal judgment.
• Microsoft denies putting 'copyright cop' in Zune.
• Accused software pirate denounces Microsoft.
• House wants copyright czar, new piracy penalties.
• Judge delivers fast smackdown to RIAA on P2P counterclaim.
• Internet Archive Challenges F.B.I.’s Secret Records Demand.
• Hollywood wants $15 million from Pirate Bay.
• IP Lawyer Explains Why Uploading Files May Not Be Distribution For Copyright.

• Activision 4Q profit soars past expectations…
• A History of Gaming Platforms Mattel Intellivision…
• Top 5 hardest levels in video games. Thanks Mike Martinez…
• Vinny Caravella leaving Gamespot. Thanks Mike Martinez…

R.I.P.: Country music superstar Eddy Arnold dies at 89.

Country Links:	Thanks Ant and Mike Martinez.
Play:	Mo Bike 2.
Link of the Evening:	Science fiction's goofiest gadgets and technology.
Science:	Great tits cope well with warming. Headline of the year. Space Shuttle Destruct Switch. Device lets ships hear whale chatter, avoid strikes.
Media:	Lego Colbert (Green Screen Challenge Entry 2006). David Cross interview on Carson Daly.
Follow-up:	Judge in pants lawsuit sues to get job back.

The Lord of the Rings Conquest Unveiled has word that Pandemic is working on The Lord of the Rings: Conquest, a LotR-inspired variant on the gameplay they created for Star Wars: Battlefront. They help fill us in about the project by offering a Q&A with Eric Gewirtz, and far from a Tolkien conversation, this interview runs five pages. Here's a bit describing what the game will entail:

We've got every single battle from the movies and then some. We've got Helm's Deep, Pelennor Fields, Minas Tirith, The Black Gates, and then we've got a bunch of other cool stuff like the Mines of Moria. Weathertop, The Shire. We've got a whole level where you get to play as the evil guys, running through The Shire, trampling Hobbits and burning the place to the ground.

And really we've focused equal parts on the good perspective and the idea of re-creating cinematic moments from the films -- not faithfully so much, but just kind of allowing the player to experience moments that are like the films -- but also really, for the first time, letting you get the chance to play as all of the bad guys. Play as the Balrog, play as Sauron and Sarumon, and really kind of live out that fantasy fulfillment of "what would it be like to really just destroy Middle-Earth? What if evil had won?"

The Enemy Territory: QUAKE Wars Development Blog has a lengthy post with full details on the upcoming version 1.5 patch for Splash Damage's teamplay shooter, which they say is "steaming ahead at full knots" (presumably that's good) and undergoing final internal testing. The post outlines UI improvements, new customization cvars, fixes and tweaks to how ranked servers and statistics are handled, bot improvements, and fixes for a number of bugs and exploits. The post concludes with an explanation of just how complicated it will be to distribute a patch covering a game that's out on three platforms over multiple distribution systems, and a set of complete patch notes.

THQ and Marvel Enter into Exclusive Licensing Agreement for Video Games Based on Marvel's Super Hero Squad announces a licensing deal that should see games for multiple platforms released next year based on a new cartoon series based on Marvel characters. The series and game will feature a "super-stylized look" (simply stylized is so passé) and will be targeted at a young audience in the 4-10 year-old range.

GamesIndustry.biz quotes DICE's Ben Cousins that web-based games (like DICE's upcoming Battlefield Heroes) represent the future of gaming when asked if there would only one console at some point:

"People talk about which of the two, PlayStation or Xbox, is going to be the big platform of the future," Cousins said.

"I think the web is going to be the big platform of the future, whether it's running on an iPhone or a Mac or on the PC."

In a response to a question about the possibility of a 'one console future' Cousins answered, "Yes and it's going to be the web, and it doesn't care if it runs on a phone or runs on a Mac or the PC."

• Gameplayer - Are cyberathletes taking drugs?
• GameCritics.com - Judging a game by its music.

• Men of War
  The Men of War Developers chat log on the Digitalmindsoft Website has a chat log in Q&A format where the developers answered questions about the game in an IRC session.
• Champions Online
  The Michael McCarry Q&A on the Champions Online Official Website is the latest in their "Meet the Team" series to introduce the developers behind Cryptic's superhero MMORPG, talking with this programmer about his life, career, and of course, the game.
• Pro Gaming
  Michael O'Dell Q&A on Play.TM talks with the founder of Team Dignitas, a pro gaming team, discussing the ins and outs of the professional gaming scene.

• Men of War on the Digitalmindsoft Website.

• Cryptic Studios at the ION Conference. Thanks Gamer's Hell.
• Play Mythos before everyone else. GamesRadar is giving out 100 keys.

Thanks Mike Martinez.

• Microsoft Gears Up to Release Xbox 360 with New Chips. Thanks xXBatmanXx.
• Demo: GRID on Xbox LIVE. "All Xbox LIVE regions."
• “Misleading” PC World PS3 Ad Pulled.
• Xbox LIVE GTA IV Numbers.
• Sierra doing Mummy game.
• GTA IV gets patch for PS3 freezing issues.
• Xbox Live Game with Fame Presents Pendulum.
• Ghostbusters PlayStation 3 Screenshots.
• LEGO Batman The Videogame PlayStation 3 Screenshots.
• Ninja Gaiden 2 Xbox 360 Screenshots.

Thanks Mike Martinez.

• A.M.D. Jumps to 12-Core Chip.
• Gates: Vista is doing just fine.
• High-performance computing from IBM and Intel Page on HEXUS.net.

• X-Plane 9 on Out of Eight.

• ASUS EAH3850 X2 Graphics Card on I4U News.
• Canon EOS Rebel XSi Digital Camera on Digital Trends.
• Cooler Master eXtreme Power Plus 460 W PSU on Hardware Secrets.
• Hyper Sonic AG2 Notebook on techPowerUp.
• Intel FCLGA4-S Core 2 Extreme Reference Heatsink on FrostyTech.com.
• MSI K9N2 Diamond Motherboard on TrustedReviews.
• NESTEQ ECS7001 700W PSU on Techware Labs.
• NZXT Tempest Case on 3dGameMan.
• Razer Destructor Professional Gaming Mat on ThinkComputers.org.
• Sans Digital MobileSTOR MS2UTN+ RAID Enclosure on ASE Labs.
• S3 Chrome 430 GT Graphics Card on TweakTown.
• VisionTek Radeon HD 3870 X2 Overclocked Edition Graphics Card on Overclockers Club.

Thanks Mike Martinez.

• The 3D Realms Website has some tidbits related to the recent 16 anniversary of the release of Wolfenstein 3-D  (story). Thanks Gamer's Hell…
• Ten Years of Havok…
• Activision Ascendant…

Happy VE Day! Okay, that's not one so many people commemorate anymore, but what the heck. On a more personal note, I want to wish a happy birthday to my brother, as it's WalterEgo's birthday today. I'd embarrass him by telling you how old he is, but since he's my younger brother, that one would sort of backfire. Happy birthday bro!

VE Links:	Thanks Ant and Mike Martinez.
Link of the Morning:	The 6 Creepiest Comic Book Characters of All Time.
Stories:	Steampunk Moves Between Two Worlds. Thanks Neutronbeam. Betty moving to NYC.
Science:	Buried Prejudice: The Bigot in Your Brain.
Teh Funny:	Dilbert.